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Chapter 204 Acting Skills
"What do you want to talk to me about?" Xie Hushan asked Han Hongbing while sitting in the headquarters of the third team, holding a hand warmer that Taozi had specially sewn for him using wild rabbit skin at her mother's home.

This hand warmer is not a high-tech product. To put it simply, it is actually a glucose bottle used for infusion filled with hot water, and then a rabbit fur cover is sewn on the outside to prevent it from getting burned.

After putting on the leather, when you hold the bottle in your hand, it is neither hot nor warm, and you don’t have to go to the stove to warm yourself.

He, his grandmother, his aunt, his second aunt, and Daxiu each had one, and no one knew where Taozi found so many furs.

At this time, in addition to hot water, the bottle in Xie Hushan's hand also contained a few croton seeds that he had specially asked the Taoist priest for.

He was now looking forward to the old bastards Han Laogou and Yin Qianfeng coming to inspect the headquarters of the Third Team in the next few days. This way, he could find a chance to give them some soaked croton water to help them clear out the bad thoughts in their stomachs.

"Won't you let me go to Hong Kong Island to find our eldest brother? I... told Xiao Qiao about this. Xiao Qiao didn't say anything at the time. But when I went there again today, she and her mother met me..." Han Hongbing sat opposite Xie Hushan, lowered his head and smiled embarrassedly:

"Actually it's..."

"After knowing that you can go to Hong Kong Island, her mother has always respected you. She definitely doesn't object to your relationship, right? And she also seems to want you to bring her daughter over as well, right?" Xie Hushan asked unhappily, his hands in his pockets, a cigarette in his mouth, he sat cross-legged on the head of the kang, staring at Han Hongbing like a rich landlord.

Han Hongbing nodded somewhat embarrassedly: "I know that this is a bit snobbish, but..."

Seeing his embarrassed look, Xie Hushan grinned and said, "Go ahead, let our eldest brother do it. It shouldn't be too much trouble. It's just an invitation letter. Are you afraid that I won't be happy about it? Don't worry. I am more willing to let her go than you are. I just want to see if Xiao Qiao, whom you fell in love with at first sight, can beat Lin the translator. Who is Lin the translator? At least he is brave enough to risk his life to go out. I estimate that in two weeks at most, your lover will have to come back and cry for his mother."

Han Hongbing saw that Xie Hushan did not object, so he raised his head and smiled awkwardly: "Is this considered embarrassing for the men of Zhongping? Ma Saner said I can't do this. How can a man let a woman manipulate him around?"

"It's not shameful. Don't take it personally, Chief of Staff Han. You're just a pretty girl who doesn't sleep enough, really." Xie Hushan took out the cigarette from his mouth and flicked it, looking out the window at the winter afternoon:
"Don't listen to Ma San'er, I'll deal with him later. What's the shame in listening to a woman? I'm willing to listen to Taozi. These are two different things. I just simply feel that Xiao Qiao is not worthy of you. You are my brother who grew up naked. I hope you find a fairy in the sky, not a disgusting woman."

"That girl Xiao Qiao is really not as good as Lin the translator. Lin the translator is a little petty bourgeois and vain, which is normal. No beautiful girl can like beggars. It costs money to keep beauties from ancient times to the present. It's okay to say that Lin the translator is snobbish, but at least she never regrets her decision. She followed you when she said she would go with you, and she didn't get scared and leave you even when you fought or set fire to her. This shows that Lin the translator is at least a woman with her own opinions. Your Xiao Qiao, except that she is prettier than Lin the translator, is really not good in other aspects. A woman can be irresponsible and courageless, but she can't be cold and indifferent. Do you know what cold and indifferent means? If you don't know, go back and look it up in the dictionary."

Han Hongbing leaned his back against the wall and lazily followed Xie Hushan's gaze out the window:
"In fact, when I first learned about this, I also felt it was quite boring. I was a farmer before, and people treated me just like that. But now that I heard that I was going to Hong Kong Island and could apply for an identity card at any time, things changed immediately. I felt that all those trips to the Yaoshan Xinhua Bookstore were in vain. If I had known earlier, I would not have read the book and directly said that I had a Hong Kong Island identity card. Maybe I should have had a son now."

"So you are a girl who has encountered few things. You will get used to it after seeing more." Xie Hushan said to Han Hongbing with a smile:

"If you really like her looks, you might as well date her sister Da Qiao. If you don't like her bad words, buy some medicine to make her mute so that it won't affect her use on the kang. Her sister will also work, she looks exactly like Xiao Qiao. If you really like Xiao Qiao's appearance, take out Xiao Qiao's photo before going to bed and ask her sister to dress up like Xiao Qiao before going to bed."

"Come on, you've seen Sister Da Qiao's temper. She's very hot-tempered. She'll slap someone in the face if they say something unpleasant. Which man would dare to let a tiger girl like that change clothes and get on the bed?" Han Hongbing also laughed when he heard Xie Hushan mention Da Qiao:
"But I have to say that although Sister Da Qiao has a bad temper and is a bit blunt, she is a righteous person and likes to stand up for the weak. In this respect, she is better than Xiao Qiao."

"Stop it, I don't think she's righteous, I've only heard her swearing, she has no manners at all, I hate people without manners the most." Xie Hushan's mind flashed back to the voice and smile of Da Qiao swearing at the gate of the Seven Porcelain Factory that day, and he decisively waved his hand and changed the subject:
"You don't need to get involved in the affairs of the printing companies when you go to Hong Kong Island. They should do what they are supposed to do. Comrade Zhu Lin, the translator, asked you to get involved, so don't worry about it. First, find a night school to learn Cantonese and English, and then just wander around Hong Kong Island. When you have seen enough, find a factory to work in, and see how others run factories and learn from them. This is the good thing about Hong Kong Island. Most factory owners started out as workers for others, and once they figured out the business and learned the skills, they immediately quit and started their own business."

He had explained to Han Hongbing before that this trip to Hong Kong Island was because Brother Bao had asked the joint venture offset printing factory in Zhongping to send people to the Hong Kong Island company for work and further training. However, Han Hongbing could not really be responsible for the work of the printing company when he went there, because that company was just a shell, and apart from the joint venture offset printing factory, there was no serious business and he could not learn anything serious.

Han Hongbing was somewhat reluctant to listen to Xie Hushan's request to find a factory to work for him and quit his job as soon as he learned the skills. In his opinion, if the factory owner was willing to teach you the skills, and you quit your job immediately after learning them and start the same business as others, this would not be in line with the rules in Bingyang County:
"Isn't this a bit unfair? The boss does this business, and the clerk does this business too. Isn't this stealing the business? In our place, after you become a carpenter, you have to make it clear to the master that as long as the master can still work, he will never take any work within five miles of his home. Besides, wasn't it the same when I was a child studying veterinary medicine?"

"Look, you have a typical northern peasant mentality. Hong Kong Islanders are not righteous in this way. You will know when you go there. Learn more. Since ancient times, most businessmen are from the south. It makes sense. Northerners all think like you. Consider the boss first..." Xie Hushan pointed at Han Hongbing:

"If you have a good relationship with them and the boss sees that you are a good material, he might give you some money to open a workshop. In the north, there is a feudal ideology that the host is the host and the guest is the guest, and the host and the guest get along well with each other. Hong Kong Island has been occupied by foreigners for so many years, so this is not the norm."

Han Hongbing peeled a peanut and put it into his mouth: "When can I come back?"

"You can come back whenever you want, but it's best not to come back before you finish your studies. If you really miss your mom, you can't come back for nothing during the holidays. You have to take a few people with you when you leave, understand? Ermianfei's son, Accountant Zhao's son, Damazi Chen's son, Cao Ma... Then when they come back, you can take the others with you. Just take it slow. You can't be the only one to see what capitalism is like. Everyone has to go and see it."

"Good fellow, are you going to use Hong Kong Island to test the young people of Yaoshan?" Han Hongbing's mind flashed with the scene that Xie Hushan had described, where one after another young people went to Hong Kong Island to learn skills and see the world, and from all the discomforts when he first arrived, he could give some advice and care to others, and then there were more and more people, everyone helped each other, and even a group of people returned home in glory after learning. He suddenly smiled and asked:
"What do you think? If everyone comes back for wheat harvest, will they still have to wear suits and leather shoes to harvest wheat?"

"That's great. Not only you, but also when you come back after you've made it, bring Brother Bao and Xuanzai with you, and let the two Hong Kong businessmen go to the fields together to give branded sickles to the two big brothers wearing Rolex watches. Ordinary sickles are not worthy of their status." Xie Hushan also laughed.

Han Hongbing laughed: "You don't take our two elder brothers seriously enough."

"I respect my elder brother very much. Otherwise, why would I encourage everyone to go to Hong Kong Island? I am worried that my elder brother will be bullied. Just think about it, when more people go there, our elder brother Bao Ge will be bullied by gangsters in Hong Kong Island again. He won't have to mention hanging out with the Changle Society anymore. He can confidently shout to others, I am a patriotic overseas Chinese from Bingyang, I will do things for Zhongping!"

"If anyone dares to confront me, believe it or not, I will ask the Hong Kong Island Zhongping Youth Militia Independent Company to take out your entire family to conduct ideological work!"

"Brother, it's worth the money you charged us." Han Hongbing laughed out loud at the second half of the Cantonese sentence spoken by Xie Hushan in the tone of Cao Tianbao.

A week later, Han Hongbing had a big drink with Xie Hushan, Chen Daxi, Ma Saner and Yang Liming, and then went to Yanjing alone. There he was going to meet up with translator Lin who had come to pick him up at the company's Yanjing office, and then go to Hong Kong Island together.

Xie Hushan did not ask him how to deal with the relationship between him and Miss Xiao Qiao, whether he should help the girl get an identity card first and then sleep with her, or sleep with her first and then help her get an identity card.

The person involved did not mention this matter, and it was not convenient for him to ask about it even if he was a good friend. However, Xie Hushan estimated that with Chief of Staff Han's character, he would not do such a thing as sleeping first and doing it later, which would be a huge loss.

As for the Zhongping Brigade, they held a general meeting of all members as soon as the twelfth lunar month began, which was earlier than in previous years. This was mainly because they were worried that the leaders from above would come down before the New Year, and if they were late, it would be difficult to fleece the leaders.

At the general members' meeting, Xie Hushan felt that the bicycles he bought for the members of Team 3 were not bought in vain. When he was in trouble, the men of Team 3 really rushed forward to help him.

In previous years, the general membership meeting lasted half a day, but this year it lasted from nine in the morning to four in the afternoon, and no result has been reached yet.

Because the members of Team 3 disagreed with the proposal of other production teams to vote to elect their own team leader as the team leader. They thought that this was just Old Dog Han trying to poke a stupid dog up the wall and fooling our Team 3 captain like a child.

Is that the production team leader? Then Chunchun is the team leader who takes the blame!

So when the vote took place at three o'clock in the afternoon, Ma Laowu did some kind of ideological work and actually developed several capable third teams of death warriors.

When the election started, he led Chen Damazi, Han Hongbing's father Han Chenggui, Xie Hushan's second uncle Xie Qifeng, and several young members of the third team to rush over and grab the paper and pen used for the ballot box. Ma Laowu seemed really angry. When he heard that Han Laogou wanted Ge Baosheng to arrange for the militia to drag them out of the venue, he stood on the podium holding the ballot box and cursed Han Laogou:

"Han, old dog, you can't force the kids in our team to serve the people like you! What? Just because you are happy to be a dog for everyone in Zhongping, you have to let Hu Saner learn to be a dog like you? I tell you, Hu Saner is a dragon! Let him fly when he gets the chance, don't try to trap him! You want to train him to be a dog, but our team three won't agree!"

"Go out and cool off. I can't explain it to you clearly." Han Laogou sat on the podium. Facing the opposition of the entire team of three, he showed no sign of anger. He didn't even eyelid Ma Laowu and was calm and composed.

The people in the audience did not look too surprised. They could all understand that no one would be willing to share good things with everyone. In the eyes of the people in Team 3, Xie Hushan belonged to Team 3. They just gave him the title of director of public security and helped the team occasionally, but you couldn't take him away.

The people in the third team were the most excited in the audience. They kept agreeing with Ma Laowu loudly. In their opinion, being the team leader was different from being the director of public security. Being the team leader meant taking care of the eating, drinking, defecating and urinating of the nearly 3,000 people in Zhongping. Xie Hushan from the third team was not a celestial being. He was just a young man who turned 20 during the Chinese New Year. How could he have such ability? It was already very good that he could manage the more than 100 people in the third team. He couldn't let the team leader lead a toad to urinate.

The big team has abused the children, so how can the third team use them?
"Don't say anything. You are just a branch secretary now. The election of the team leader has nothing to do with you." Seeing Han Laogou asking them to leave, Chen Damazi chimed in for Ma Laowu:

"Either you get elected as the team leader, then you can let us go. If you don't get elected, why do you kick us out? You are the secretary in charge of the party members, not the people in the team!"

"Hu San'er, don't worry. As long as your fifth uncle is still alive, no one will try to cheat you!" Ma Laowu said to Xie Hushan at the meeting, blushing and patting his chest:

"If you were to elect the county magistrate today and your uncle said the three words 'I'm not happy', then your uncle is not a human being and deserves to be hit by a carriage when he goes out. I am the one who is blocking the future of the young people in the team, but the job of the captain must be blocked! This is not an easy job!"

Accountant Zhao chimed in and shouted to the other teams:
"You are just jealous of the bicycles given out by our team three. If you like bicycles, just ask your captain to buy one too. Why are you bullying our captain? Hu San'er is still a child! His parents are gone. You are all elders. You should be more considerate and take care of him. How can you turn against him and bully him?"

"Zhao Shuli, you are so ashamed to say that? You are the only ones who can bully them, right? We can only watch? I believe others when they say they won't bully the children, but you and Ma Laowu, two thieves, are not worthy of that?" The first person to speak was Wu Tiemei, the production team leader of the fourth team. She was a middle-aged woman. She said things that other male team leaders were not willing to say. When she heard Accountant Zhao's support, she immediately refuted:
"It was you two who forced the kid to cheat the county for manure, not us! It's only been a year, and you two are already pretending to be good people? Ask around, who in the 50-mile radius doesn't know about the immoral things you two did, teaching a kid to fool the county leaders?"

"You said we used Xie Hushan like an animal, but you two didn't do anything? Xie Hushan took those stupid boys to the West Mountain to help Team 3 remove bricks and fire the kiln. Wasn't it you who did it? You let the kids do such heavy work, aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning?"

"What did we say? We just wanted Xie Hushan to be the team leader, to give everyone some advice, and to have a better life sooner. But you two jumped out! What have you been doing before?"

Wu Tiemei was very eloquent, and her words were as rapid and urgent as a cannon. She froze Accountant Zhao on the spot, and also made the members of the other teams react:

"Yes, the worst kind are Ma Laowu and his gang. They treat Xie Hushan's child like an animal and don't allow others to use him. They are afraid that others will hurt him, not themselves!"

"As for the incident of tricking Xie Hushan into going to the county town to cheat for manure, the brigade should have reported the case and sentenced these two old bastards to ten or eight years of labor reform!"

Han Laogou looked at the furious Ma Laowu and said, "Laowu, tell me why being the captain is not a good job. Explain it clearly."

"There is no team leader in our team. You, the secretary, have the final say. So what if Hu San is the team leader? You still have to make the decisions on everything. You just want to send him to deal with the leaders and take advantage of them when they come! What can he decide? He is in the third team. At least he has the final say on everything. He can deal with anyone who doesn't listen to him. Can he do that in the team? Do you, Han Laogou, agree?" Ma Laowu said loudly to Han Laogou with his eyes wide open.

Ma Laowu's roar quickly quieted the venue.

Is this old guy Ermianfei really going all out today?
Yang Limin, who was present at the meeting, was the first to react. He said, "Uncle Wu, what you said about this question is a bit..."

"Xiao Yang, Second Uncle knows that you are a good person and have a good relationship with San'er. But now is the internal meeting of Zhongping Production Brigade. As a cadre sent from the county, don't speak at this time. We choose our own team leader, and the commune has no right to interfere. Don't say anything either. Second Uncle will apologize to you after the meeting!" Xie Qifeng interrupted Yang Liming and said back what Yang Liming didn't say.

These scenes made Xie Hushan, the person involved, dumbfounded. When did he have such a high prestige in the third team?
"What Lao Wu said is indeed correct. I have been the secretary and team leader for no reason, and I don't even know how many years I have been doing both. It's true that everyone has forgotten that these are two teams. The secretary has his work, and the team leader has his work. It was originally because they were afraid that there would be too many cadres in the brigade and the work points would be diluted. Now that Lao Wu and Team Three have opinions on this matter and feel that it's easy for Hu San'er to lose his autonomy as the team leader, let's talk about it. The secretary is responsible for the work of the brigade's Party branch committee. This is a team, normally there are six people. If all the positions in the team are counted, there should be nine people. Today, we're not just electing the team leader, but also re-electing the nine team positions that the branch committee members previously held. Is that okay? You're afraid that I'll bully Hu San'er, so let Hu San'er nominate which people I hope will be the cadres of his brigade. In the future, we'll be like those leaders in the county, with separate jobs and each doing their own job." Han Laogou looked at Ma Laowu, who was holding the ballot box:

“What do you think of my attitude?”

Han Laogou's words made Ma Laowu stand there in a daze as if he had been acupunctured. Xie Qifeng, who had been doing what Ma Laowu ordered, saw that Ma Laowu had stopped moving. He looked at Accountant Zhao, Chen Damazi, and finally at Xie Hushan. He didn't know why everyone suddenly stopped moving.

He was persuaded against it by Ma Laowu. As a farmer, he always felt that his nephew should not interfere too much in the production team's affairs. It was better for him to marry a wife, build a house and live a down-to-earth life.

Moreover, he felt that what Ma Laowu said was correct. The team leader was not an easy job. For so many years, Han Laogou had always been the one who had the final say in Zhongping Brigade. Several cadres in the brigade were promoted by Han Laogou. Even though his nephew Xie Hushan became the team leader, he could not order others around. Besides, Han Laogou had always managed the brigade well, so why not let Han Laogou continue to be in charge? Why did he have to make things difficult for his nephew?

The nephew is a young man with a bad temper. He is afraid that if someone does not listen to Xie Hushan, Xie Hushan will not be able to stand this kind of anger and will do something out of line when he gets excited. It would be better for him to stay in the third team as the captain.

At least including himself, everyone in the third team would listen to him. Even if there were a few who were dissatisfied, for the sake of his uncle and himself, his second uncle, they would only dare to complain in private and would not embarrass his nephew in public.

But from what Han Laogou said just now, if he was worried that his nephew's words wouldn't be heard in the brigade, then he might as well elect all the other positions in the brigade at the same time, and whoever Xie Hushan nominated could run for election.

Xie Qifeng didn't know how to retort. He was not good at speaking and could only pin his hopes on Ma Laowu, Accountant Zhao, Chen Damazi and others. However, after waiting for a long time, Ma Laowu didn't say a word.

All the members present had already understood clearly that Ma Laowu could no longer open his mouth. His use of the excuse of lack of autonomy to object was totally untenable.

Because what Han Laogou said meant that as long as Xie Hushan was willing to be the team leader, he could also decide on the nomination candidates for the deputy team leader, the team accountant and cashier, the militia company commander, the women's director, the league secretary, the agricultural technician, the cashier, and the security director. According to everyone's current attitude towards Xie Hushan, basically no one would object to whoever he nominated.

"I'm going to go out and move around." Ma Laowu put the ticket box back far away and whispered to Han Laogou, "The smoke in the room was too strong. It gave me a headache just now. I spoke too hastily."

When Xie Hushan heard what Ma Laowu said, he realized that his second uncle, Accountant Zhao, Chen Damazi, Han Chengsong and others must have been played by Ma Laowu and Han Laogou...

This isn't really helping me to oppose, it's just tightening the reins on myself.

Only his second uncle truly cared about him. The confusion on his face was not fake. He was really wondering why Ma Laowu and Accountant Zhao didn't continue to speak out loudly in opposition. No matter what Han Laogou said, they should just refuse to agree and continue to make a fuss.

Fortunately, Ma Laowu’s performance was quite convincing at the beginning. For a moment, Xie Hushan was a little moved when he saw Ma Laowu on the stage holding the ticket box and acting so passionately and generously.

The croton water was brewed correctly, and it cannot be fed to only two people. Now there are three of us, so we have to ask the Taoist priest for a few more pills.

(End of this chapter)